What Equipment Is Needed For Basketball Practice?

Basketball practice is a time for players to improve their skills and prepare for the next big game. Players work on basic fundamentals such as dribbling, shooting, passing and defense, as well as practicing plays and game situations during practice. Coaches must provide the necessary equipment to help the team get the most out of practice time and be as prepared as possible.

Jerseys

The days of going shirts and skins in practice is no longer acceptable, but coaches still need to be able to differentiate between teams during scrimmages or other practice competitions. As such, each player needs to have a reversible practice jerseys so that he can easily switch teams if necessary. If players do not have reversible practice jerseys, colored pennies work just as well. Having colored jerseys minimizes the amount of lost practice time from coaches frequently switching players around to find the right lineup combination.

Time Management

You need a scoreboard clock to keep your practice running on time, as well as to practice in-game situations such as the end of a quarter or the end of the game. As part of your practice plan you should allot specific amounts of time for each drill and use the scoreboard clock as a visual reminder to stay on time. You can also use the scoreboard clock to set up situations your players are likely to face in a game, such as being ahead or behind with two minutes to play. The scoreboard clock makes your scrimmages more authentic and better prepares your players for live game action.

Balls and Baskets

You should have enough basketballs so that every player has his own. This way you are able to do individual ball-handling, passing and shooting drills. You should also have at least one over-sized trainer basketball that players can use to improve their shooting accuracy, as well as a deflated basketball to use in scrimmages where dribbling is not allowed to reinforce the importance of passing. At minimum, you need two baskets so that you can scrimmage full-court, but ideally you should have four to six baskets so that you can be running multiple shooting stations at one time. The more baskets you have, the more shots your players can get up during practice.

Specialty Equipment

To enhance the quality of your practice you can include specialty equipment such as shooting machines, a bubble rebounder or a toss back net. Shooting machines increase the number of shots your players can get up in a short amount of time because they throw passes in rapid succession, allowing your players to catch and shoot faster than if they were playing with a partner who was chasing down rebounds. The bubble rebounder clips onto the top of any regulation size rim and prevents shots from going into the basket, providing the perfect practice for rebounding. Some models are designed with contoured surfaces, making judging the ball's path on rebounds more difficult. A toss back net can act as an impromptu passing partner when you are short on players.